M. Night Shyamalan is the king of creepy, the master of mind games, and the prince of plot twists. His movies are famous for having viewers on the edge of their seats right up until the end when some major plot reveal we never saw coming sends us all reeling. Yet all of his movies are not created equal, while some haunt us forever, some are a little less noteworthy.
Will anything ever top the “I see dead people.” reveal? Probably not, but we thought there were some solid runners-up. So, we have dug up seven of the best M. Night Shyamalan movie plot twists and ranked them from creepiest to we might actually get some sleep tonight.
P.S. Proceed with caution there are some major spoilers below!
1. The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense told the story of a disturbed little boy who as it turns out could see dead people. While the boy was haunted by the spirits around him, he did have a light in the dark, his new therapist Dr. Malcolm Crowe played by Bruce Willis. While the disclosure that young Cole Sear played by Haley Joel Osment could see the undead, well the technically dead but still roaming around, was disturbing, the bigger plot twist arrived at the end.
Throughout the movie, we followed the parallel plot of Dr. Crowe’s story as after a harrowing near-death experience, he and his wife began to grow apart. Little did we know how apart they had actually grown until the major plot twist was revealed, that Dr. Crowe was a ghost too. The near-death experience had actually just been a death experience minus the near part.
The entire movie wrapped up with Dr. Crowe being able to move on and accept his death while Cole was able to accept his gift and move on with this life. It was a heartwarming ending wrapped up in a whole lot of plot twists and turns which gained this scary story, our number one M. Night Shyamalan plot twist position.
2. Signs
There are few movies that rival The Sixth Sense in terms of plot, but M. Night Shyamanlan’s Signs did just that for us.
The story follows a small town former Reverend Graham Hess, played by Mel Gibson, and his small family. The Reverand has lost faith in the divine following the unexpected death of his wife and now as an alien invasion looms, he continues to struggle with his faith.
M. Night Shyamalan is famous for popping up as characters in his own movies, and in this one, he plays a fairly starring role as the small-town vet who fell asleep driving at the precise right time to hit and kill Graham’s pious wife.
Between the death of his wife and an alien invasion, it seems like nothing in Graham’s life seems to be going right. Then suddenly, it all comes together. It is revealed in the end that all of the steps along the way, were meant to be. The wife’s death, the final prophecies she gives him, the fact his son had asthma so he never inhaled the deadly alien poison, and on and on. Graham regains his faith and goes back to the church and the viewer is left trying to get rid of the chills spreading quickly over their body.
The movie has all kinds of signs, synchronicity, and major plot twists along the way. It’s also some of the creepiest imagery we’ve ever seen. Seriously, the scene at the children’s birthday party where the alien stepped out from behind the shrubbery, is one that we will most likely never recover from.
Between all the action and the major coming together of the plot in the final few scenes, we had no choice but to give this movie runner-up on our list.
3. The Village
Creepy cloaked forest creatures skulking around an old-timey village? No thank you. Yet this is exactly the horrifying premise of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village.
The story follows a village that the viewer believes to exist in some dark ages time as the language, clothing, and overall mindset of the villagers would imply. Then when the blind village girl, Ivy Walker, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, is sent on a mission through the forbidden forest, the creatures’ home, in search of medicine, the plot begins to reveal that nothing is as it seems.
In a major unseen plot twist, it turns out that the scene is actually set current day and the village itself is just old school. The elders of the village have chosen to turn away from the horrors of modern society after connecting through a grief counseling group. Oh, and they created the dark forest creatures to keep the youngsters from leaving the village. In fact, it is just the elders dressing up and scaring everybody. Talk about a major plot twist none of us saw coming.
The entire movie provides plenty of “edge of your seat” moments between the dark forest creatures and the girl blindly finding her way through the woods, but none is as shocking as when the entire truth is revealed. Well done M., Night Shyamalan, well done.
4. Unbreakable
Unbreakable follows the story of two people on opposite ends of the human spectrum. One who is superhuman in their strength and abilities, and one who is the opposite, who is so delicate that the slightest of movements can cause broken bones. The premise itself is a terrifying thought, that within the human race, the duality can be that vast and the spectrum so broad.
As it progresses M. Night Shyamalan’s famous plot twists begin to shine, as initially, we view the disabled comic book store owner Elijah Price, played by Samuel L. Jackson as a type of sub-hero. Yet as time goes on his manipulation of the superhuman David Dunn, played by Bruce Willis clues us in that something might be up. Finally, in a plot twist, no one saw coming, it turns out the very accidents that Dunn was superhumanly surviving, were coordinated by Price in order to find Dunn, his human superhero opposite.
It’s a very shocking turn of events and one that has claimed the number four spot on our twisted tales of Shyamalan countdown.
5. Split
Split follows the kidnapping of three young teens by Kevin, a deeply disturbed man who exhibits multiple personalities — 23 to be exact — all rumbling around in his own mind, with a terrifying 24th, struggling to emerge.
The storyline follows the kidnappings and ultimately murders of two of the girls. It is dark, twisted, and oh-so creepy. However, the real plot twist is not revealed until the very end. As the local news station covers the story it is revealed that Kevin is a serial killer but apparently he is not alone. As the local waitress watching struggles to remember the other serial killer’s name, who should provide the answer, other than David Dunn, from Unbreakable, played by Bruce Willis? The name is Mr. Glass, the alter ego villain name of Elijah Price, his nemesis in Unbreakable. It turns out both movies are in the same universe.
Apparently, this ending was such a twist, that Shyamalan didn’t reveal it to anyone, not even studio execs until filming began! A twist ending even to those shooting and starring in the movie? That’s quite an accomplishment. This is exactly why this movie rolls into our number-five spot.
6. The Visit
Family relationships are never easy, especially when they turn out to not be your actual family members. Youngsters Becca and Tyler of The Visit found this out the hard way.
The two pre-teens head off to meet their estranged grandparents for the first time. It begins with all hugs and smiles but soon “Nana” and “Pop Pop’s” behavior takes a sharp turn and their odd habits turn downright scary. It’s right around this time the viewer is wondering what exactly is M. Night Shyamalan up to. Are the grandparents possessed? Are they psychotic? What does Mr. Shyamalan have up his sleeve…
Yet the viewer has to wait until near the bitter end to find out the truth, that the real grandparents are dead! The pre-teen siblings discover their real grandparent’s bodies stuffed in the basement! Kind of like a dark Hardy Boy’s mystery reveal. The two put all the pieces together realizing that the fake grandparents were actually escaped, mental patients who had killed their real grandparents and taken on their identities. Long story short it is a major plot twist that leads the siblings to have to kill their fake grandparents to survive.
There is no other way to describe this movie other than an M. Night Shyamalan trademark, safely securing it the number six spot on our list.
7. The Happening
The Happening takes the viewer on a wild ride through a strange apocalyptic world. The story follows science teacher Elliot Moore and his wife Alma, played by none other than Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel, as they try to navigate a strange worldwide epidemic that causes people to commit suicide.
The couple and friends struggle to understand if what is occurring is a virus, something in the air, an odd toxin, or even possibly chemical warfare. They travel across their new reality trying to avoid mass suicides all across the land while trying to determine the cause of the chaos. Finally, clever science whiz Elliot Moore figures out the plot twist of a conclusion.
Killer plants. After having had enough of mankind’s constant destruction of the Earth, the plants are fighting back and releasing a toxin that causes humans to kill themselves. Elliot figures out that small amounts of humans don’t seem to trigger the toxin to release so the group breaks apart and continues on their trek. The movie concludes with the wave of plant attacks leaving as quickly as it has come and the survivors free to roam and begin rebuilding their lives.
8. Devil
Being stuck in an elevator is a circle of Hell for many of us, but being stuck in an elevator with the actual devil, now that’s something else entirely. Yet this is exactly the premise of M. Night Shyamalan’s horrifying story, Devil.
Five strangers find themselves trapped in an elevator, which is terrifying enough, but then when people begin dying, true panic sets in. As the strangers begin talking amongst themselves, they realize they have all done some less-than-tasteful things in their lives. As the movie progresses, it’s a real “whodunit” as all the strangers soon become suspects.
The horrifying twist ending, reveals that the old woman who was among the first killed, was actually the killer, as she is the Devil herself. She has gathered all the strangers in the elevator to pay for their sins. The old woman’s dark, soulless eyes will be visiting us in our dreams for years to come, as will the thought that our mistakes don’t always stay in the past. Terrifying.
9. Glass
Just when we thought we’d heard the last of David Dunn, played by Bruce Willis, and the infamous Mr. Glass, played by Samuel L. Jackson the super/sub-hero duo are back in action in M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass.
In the first installment of the trilogy, Unbreakable, we are introduced to superhero David Dunn who miraculously survives all sorts of near-death experiences, thus proving superheroes are real. Yet, in Glass, we find out he is not alone, not by a long shot.
As the plot twists and turns we find out, there are actually a great many superheroes and ‘highly sensitives’ out there, yet psychiatrists and doctors are covering up their existence, by convincing them their powers are part of their mental illness. These psychiatrists are powered by a secret society whose main goal is to not let people know how powerful they truly are and to keep the existence of superheroes secret. This plot gave us some serious Matrix vibes and kept our minds as twisty as the plot long after the closing credits.
10. Old
M. Night Shyamalan is the master of mind manipulation. Part of his success is taking the innate fears of humanity and playing on them in his movies. This is exactly what made his 2021 hit movie Old so terrifying.
One of the greatest fears across all of humanity is the fear of illness, getting old, and ultimately death. So when a group of vacationers begins experiencing a time warp on the beach of their island paradise, things get a little too real. The couples see accelerated aging, including the death of a newborn baby. While the group struggles to figure out what about this particular beach is stealing their youth, they realize they are being watched.
In a twist ending that hits a little too close to home, the viewer is shown the truth. The beach is being used by a pharmaceutical company to test out its drugs in an accelerated environment. So creepy. Only two adult members of the group make it off the island alive, but the dark premise of the movie lasts long after the finale.
M. Night Shyamalan certainly has a healthy appetite for the macabre. Yet his twisted tales dive further than surface-level scares, they dig way deep down into the recesses of our minds. His infamous plot twists are something of a legend, and that is why we felt a countdown of his top terrify-ers, was so called for. So check out these sordid storylines if you dare, but don’t say we didn’t warn you.